WASHINGTON - The U.S. Secret Service, the Seattle Police Department, the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and the Fife Police Department conducted a payment card skimming and Electronic Benefit Transfer fraud outreach operation in Washington state, May 15.
Personnel visited 37 businesses and removed four skimming devices, preventing an estimated potential loss of nearly $1.2 million. More than 190 point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps and ATMs were inspected.
During the operation, personnel also distributed educational materials about Electronic Benefit Transfer fraud and skimming to businesses to help them better identify the warning signs of illegal skimming devices in their point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps and ATMs.
“The Secret Service and our law enforcement partners are committed to combatting EBT fraud and credit card skimming in the area. The devices found during this operation prevent stolen card data from falling into the hands of criminals,” said Glen Peterson, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Seattle Field Office. “Additionally, we were able to educate businesses on how to identify and report illegal skimming devices, which will prevent criminals from targeting our community’s most vulnerable populations.”
The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General also provided support for the operation.
Criminals steal EBT and other payment card numbers by installing illegal skimming devices on ATMs, gas pumps, and merchant point-of-sale terminals. Criminals use skimming to capture card information from EBT cards and then encode that data onto another card with a magnetic strip, such as a hotel key. It is estimated that skimming costs financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion each year.
Law enforcement agencies have seen a nationwide increase in skimming, particularly targeting EBT cards. EBT fraud targets the nation’s most vulnerable communities. Each month, money is deposited into government assistance accounts intended to help families pay for food and other basic items. This enables criminals who steal card information to time their fraudulent withdrawals and purchases around the monthly deposits.
There are several precautions consumers can take to protect themselves.
- Inspect ATMs, point-of-sale terminals, and other card readers before using them. Look for anything loose, crooked, damaged, or scratched. Don't use a card reader if you notice anything unusual.
- If you use a debit card at a gas station, run it as a credit card instead of entering a PIN. That way, the PIN is safe, and the money isn’t deducted immediately from your account. If that’s not an option, cover your hand when entering your PIN. Scammers sometimes use tiny pinhole cameras, situated above the keypad area, to record PIN entries. Use ATMs in a well-lit, indoor location, which are less vulnerable targets.
- Be alert for skimming devices in tourist areas, which are popular targets.
- Use debit and credit cards with chip technology. Chip-enabled cards are less vulnerable to skimming than magnetic strip cards in the U.S.
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